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45 Out of 50 Electronics Companies Illegally Void Warranties After Independent Repair, Sting Operation Finds (vice.com)
U.S. PIRG -- a non-profit that uses grassroots methods to advocate for political change -- found that 90 percent of manufacturers it contacted claimed that a third party repair would void its warranty. "PIRG researched the warranty information of 50 companies in the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) -- an industry group of notorious for lobbying to protect is repair monopolies -- and found that 45 of them claimed independent repair would void their warranty," Motherboard reports. From the report: PIRG poured over the documentation for 50 companies such as Bissell, Whirlpool, and Panasonic to document their warranty policies. When it couldn't find clear language about warranty and repair, it reached out to the companies via their customer service lines. The overwhelming majority of the companies told PIRG that independent repair would void the warranty.
The 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states that no manufacturer who charges more than $5 for a product can put repair restrictions on a product they're offering a warranty on. In May, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, HTC, Hyundai, and ASUS for violating the act by threatening to void the warranties of customers who repaired their own devices. Within 30 days, many of the companies had complied and changed the language on their websites around independent repair. It was a step in the right direction, but the PIRGs survey of the AHAM members shows that there's still a lot of work to do.
The 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states that no manufacturer who charges more than $5 for a product can put repair restrictions on a product they're offering a warranty on. In May, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, HTC, Hyundai, and ASUS for violating the act by threatening to void the warranties of customers who repaired their own devices. Within 30 days, many of the companies had complied and changed the language on their websites around independent repair. It was a step in the right direction, but the PIRGs survey of the AHAM members shows that there's still a lot of work to do.
But Whirlpool, Bissell, and other makers of Home Appliances are not necessarily "Electronics Companies". Sure, they make things with electronics IN them, but a washing machine is more than just a circuit board.
Try asking the following companies about their warranties:
Dell
Toshiba
Samsung
Apple
Intel
Vizio
TCL
JVC
Get back to me when you have the results...
Which leaves one to wonder, which companies didn't comply?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Not everything is covered under most warranties.. If I decide to replace the icemaker in my fridge after my kid broke it, I shouldn't lose the compressor warranty because I repaired a part my kid broke that has nothing to do with the other parts.
--- We need more Ron Paul!
Because otherwise, too many manufacturers wanted to overcharge by crazy amounts for routine maintenance under threat of voiding warranties. So, for example if you decided to change your own oil for a few bucks rather than pay the stealership $100 to do it, they would try to not honor the warranty on your transmission even though you didn't touch it.
So now they have to prove you damaged it if they want to void the warranty.
This does not mean they have to fix it for free if you screwed it up yourself.
I used to work in the Tech Support Department for a budget gaming system manufacturer called iBuyPower. We were instructed to tell customers that they were out of luck if they broke their systems when installing their parts that we sent them (if they opted for self-repair). The warranty excluded physical damage, and used that excuse alot. The company provided no instructions or guides, we offered only basic call by call instructions. After customers broke their system most would opt to send the systems back to us and the billing department would charge them (with an generous mark up) on replacement parts and return shipping. Ive seen some systems (costing $700) get charged $300 for parts and shipping. It was a racket. Oh I could tell you stories. Truth be told i'm glad i moved on and up in the world.
The complete list of tested companies can be found in this PDF (page 22);
https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/...
As usual the list is missing from tfa.
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
I purchased a new, in original box, never opened Neato Botvac D5 Connected robot vacuum from a very reputable seller on eBay. After a month, the device stopped working. Neato tech support determined there was a circuitry problem and that the device should be replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, they would not honor that warranty because I had purchased it from an unauthorized reseller. Even though I had the original box, all the accessories, they acknowledged it was brand new and the serial numbers from the box and device matched, they would not honor the warranty because of where I had purchased it. Luckily, the seller accepted the return of the device and issued me a refund. But, he shouldn't have needed to do so. Can Neato legally get away with that?